Tie in Gandhinagar Municipal Election; both BJP and Congress bag 16 seats each

Election for the Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation has produced a hung verdict, with Congress bagging half of the 32 seats and denying the BJP a chance to retain power in the civic body.

The April 24 poll, which registered about 52% voter turnout, was the second general election of the municipal corporation that was formed in 2011.

Congress had won the civic body’s first election with 18 seats, three more than the BJP. But the BJP soon managed to wrest power by winning over a few Congress councillors. The total number of seats came down to 32 after delimitation.

The tie this time prompted Congress spokesperson Nishit Vyas to allege that the BJP had resorted to bogus voting and used money to lure voters.

Some election observers said the probability of horse trading would rise.

Vyas said that Mahendrasinh Rana, who had won the post of mayor on a Congress ticket but later joined the BJP, has lost the election.

However, Gujarat BJP spokesperson Bharat Pandya said the party has gained ground in Gandhinagar and in rural areas. “In the taluka panchayat elections, we have gained a lot of ground, wining seven out of 10 seats, and even in Gandhinagar, where we had lost the last election, we have managed to gain ground,” Pandya told ET.

Going by an earlier trend, the ruling party is now likely to be selected through lottery.